I put down about 50 sq ft. of Cerdomus Pietra D'Assisi Beige porcelain tile in my bathroom. We wanted a natural stone look but the floor deflection steered us away from travertine.

The problem I have is the grout - I used sort of used a trick posted here, I think by Lazarus - he said to use the end of a broom stick, but I ended up using a carpenter's pencil, which worked a little better. I may have dug too much grout out- but that's not the problem.

The problem is the grout has dried, and I still have some in the chiseled edges, and it's a bear to get out. I paid a lot for those chisels and I want to see them! I've tried everything - wire brush (turns the color of the grout), plastic bristle brush (doesn't cut it), and even dug out the dremel tool and tried several different heads - no luck.

Also tried a light acid wash but I'm concerned about making it too strong and burning out or weakening the grout that I want to stay there.

Seems like the only thing that works is a metal putty knife and a lot of elbow grease - which I'm not looking forward to.

We're planning to put another 300 sq ft or so in the kitchen area - any advice on how to grout this stuff?

I spaced the tiles about 1/8" apart, but with the chiseled edges looks like a 1/4" joint.

I think your F@#$'d Grout the rest to match or start over. That sucks man, I feel for ya. But you need to wipe your joints to where you want them almost immediately with that type of tile! Keeping the water saturations down as much as possible! Live and Learn I guess...

Hi Kevin, The chiseled edge is gonna make for a wider looking joint than you really have, that's just the way it is. Did you use sanded grout, I would have?
I would grout it like anything else, washing with a big yellow sponge. Of course the joints are gonna be lower when you dig it out some with a pencil or stick. I'd skip this next time around.

A 4 inch diamond blade on a grinder (variable speed is less forgiving) will get grout out in a hurry but will also eat up the edge of the tile if you get against it. I have a Dremel and Rotozip and have found the Rotozip has longer lasting bits.

I installed the same tile onto my kitchen floor and the trick is to not leave it too long before you wash off other wise as you stated it will stick in the chiseled edges....I'm afraid unless you are prepared for some hard labour you will have to either fill the joints or leave it be as it is......good luck...

I think some of you missed what I was trying to say. I like the joint width, and I don't need to rip the grout out and start over. I know I should have gotten 99% of the grout out before it dried. What I'm talking about is a thin film of grout in the chiseled part of the tile. This is a thick body tile, so my joints are about 1/8" - 3/16" wide and about 3/8" deep - imagine the top 1/8" to be the chiseled part - that's where the problem is. Maybe a picture would clear things up.

Any ways, I've been at it with the dremel tool and a harder bit, slowly getting most of it up.

I was hoping that someone had a technique for grouting this type of tile, for a future installation when I put it in the kitchen area. Something like shrink-wrap on the chiseled part or something wild like that. I've never worked with these chisleled edge tiles before so it's a learning experience for me.

Had it been natural stone I would have pre-sealed and that would have helped.

here's some pics... the 1st pic hopefully will give you an idea of what I'm trying to explain. the rest are the floor and shower. anybody want to grout that shower for me? I'm not looking forward to it...

Hi Kevin, I misunderstood. I thought you were wanting to take out the grout ans start over, I see your problem now. I don't know if it will work but it might be worth a try. Take a wood dowel the size of a pencil and sharpen it to a point, try digging it out with it. It might not work if the grout is already rock hard.

I went back with the dremel and a little more aggressive bit, and it's looking better. Still have a few spots, I'll work on them here and there. Strive for perfection, then step back, drink a beer, and settle for something a little less. Heck people are just going to go in the bathroom and piss any ways... it's not like they are going to get down on the floor and inspect the grout!!!